Chapter 228: The Lamb Delivered to the Door, How Can It Not Be Taken?
Lin Beifan was extremely surprised! Since he entered the court as an official, the first high-ranking official he offended was Gao Tianyao, the Minister of Personnel. The two could be considered political enemies, not having any dealings with each other until their deaths.
Unexpectedly, one day, Gao Tianyao actually came to him!
“Dali, go and tell him to wait a moment, and also prepare a cup of tea. I’ll be there soon!” Lin Beifan instructed his servant.
“Yes, young master!”
After a moment, Lin Beifan saw Gao Tianyao in the main hall. He greeted him with a cupped hand and a smile, “Sir Gao, what an unexpected guest! I never thought you would come to visit me! Haha!”
“Cough…,” Gao Tianyao’s face was somewhat unnatural. He forced a smile through the wrinkles on his face and said, “Sir Lin, I have nothing important to do, just wanted to have a private talk with you. By the way, this is a little gift I brought, please accept it.”
Lin Beifan looked over and found that Gao Tianyao brought quite a few gifts. There were calligraphy and painting supplies, calligraphy samples, jade carvings, all of them elegant and undoubtedly valuable.
For example, there was a calligraphy and painting work by a master, which had already been priced at 6,000 taels in the market.
The value of the other items was also considerable.
It could be said that Gao Tianyao had put a lot of thought into these gifts.
“Since it’s Sir Gao’s gift, then I, as an official, will humbly accept it! Dali, these are all good things, move them directly to my study!” Lin Beifan said with a smile.
“Yes, young master!” Dali, together with Xiao Cui, moved the items to the back.
Seeing that Lin Beifan accepted the gifts without showing any displeasure, Gao Tianyao secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Afterward, Xiao Cui served the tea and then screened the surroundings, leaving only Lin Beifan and Gao Tianyao.
“Now there’s no one else, Sir Gao, please speak openly. I’m all ears!” Lin Beifan said.
“Cough, Sir Lin, let me get straight to the point. I am here this time on behalf of the Gao family in the Northern Region,” Gao Tianyao said seriously, but his expression still appeared somewhat unnatural. He spoke in a low voice, “We, the Gao family, hope to obtain the distribution rights for cement. I hope you can help us with this matter.”
Lin Beifan chuckled inwardly. Now it’s your turn to come begging to me!
The Gao family in the Northern Region was a prestigious family that had been passed down for thousands of years. This family was extremely remarkable and had produced many outstanding scholars who became officials in every dynasty. Their strength was formidable. At their peak, about one-third of the officials in the court were from their family, influencing the policies of the country. Even the current emperor had to consider their opinions in his decision-making.
However, with the implementation of the imperial examination system and the widespread availability of books, their status had greatly declined. Nevertheless, they still wielded significant influence in the court.
Gao Tianyao was the most outstanding representative of their generation, reaching the position of a second-ranked Minister in the current court. He could be considered someone with high authority and power, bringing good fortune to the entire Gao family.
All prestigious families required financial resources for their development. At this crucial moment, Lin Beifan introduced cement, a miraculous product. How could the Gao family remain unmoved? Therefore, the Gao family decided to persuade Gao Tianyao to approach Lin Beifan.
No matter how reluctant Gao Tianyao might be, he had to come and present gifts to Lin Beifan and seek his help for the sake of the Gao family.
“Sir Gao, this matter is quite difficult to handle,” Lin Beifan spread his hands with a helpless expression, “It is written on the Imperial List that only the top ten contributors can obtain the distribution rights for cement! If I act against the rules, it would be tantamount to deceiving the empress, which could lead to my execution. I can’t afford to take such a risk!”
Gao Tianyao glanced at Lin Beifan with a hint of disdain.
How many times have you acted against the rules and deceived the empress?
I don’t even want to talk about it!
“Sir Lin, I know this is difficult, but I hope you can be flexible within the rules. For example…” Gao Tianyao whispered, “Could you tell me where the Gao family currently ranks in terms of contributions, who is ahead of us, and how much they have contributed? This way, I can handle it better.”
As he spoke, he took out a banknote worth 100,000 taels from his pocket.
Lin Beifan blinked his eyes and said, “Sir Gao, add a little more!”
Gao Tianyao’s mouth twitched, and he took out two more banknotes, making it a total of 200,000 taels.
“Thank you, Sir Gao!” Lin Beifan grinned and tucked the money into his pocket. “Since Sir Gao is so generous, I can’t be stingy. Let me tell you.”
Lin Beifan lowered his head and whispered, “The contribution ranking of the Gao family is currently twelfth. As for those ahead of them, they are…”
Upon hearing the names and contributions of the families ahead of them, Gao Tianyao’s face turned pale. “I didn’t expect those few prominent families to be so generous! And some wealthy merchant families, usually low-key, are actually so rich!”
Lin Beifan shook his head and sighed, “I didn’t expect it either. It seems that there’s always someone wealthier than us. If it weren’t for the emergence of cement, I’m afraid they wouldn’t have come forward like this!”
“Thank you for telling me. I’ll go back and prepare!” Gao Tianyao hurriedly left.
Clearly, he intended to accumulate enough contributions to break into the top ten.
Lin Beifan watched the other’s departing figure and felt pleased in his heart.
In fact, the contribution ranking of the Gao family was eighth, quite high indeed.
However, only a few people knew about this, and Lin Beifan had strictly ordered them not to reveal it to anyone.
This provided him with a lot of leverage!
He could easily make money on the side and also profit from some resources. Why wouldn’t he take advantage of this opportunity?
As Lin Beifan sipped his tea, he was just about to return to his study to continue enjoying himself when Dali came again and said, “Young Master, the Minister of Revenue, Qian, is here. He says he wants to talk to you about something!”
Lin Beifan smiled. Looks like someone else is bringing money.
Behind the Minister of Revenue, Qian, there was also the shadow of a prestigious family.
Perhaps one could say that most high-ranking officials in the court had the backing of prominent families.
Otherwise, it would not be so easy for them to climb the ranks.
The prominent families had helped them gain power, and now it was time for them to repay the favor!
“Please, invite him in!”
Over the next few days, Lin Beifan secretly met with many people.
They all wanted to inquire about the contribution rankings from Lin Beifan and even hoped he could directly help them secure a distribution right.
Lin Beifan skillfully handled the situation, accepting all the sweet-talking flattery while keeping the information about the distribution rights to himself.
He would inform them about their contribution rankings so they could work on increasing their contributions, but obtaining the distribution rights was out of the question.
In order to secure the distribution rights for cement, some people came to him twice, even thrice, each time bearing more sincerity.
As a result, Lin Beifan easily made five million taels.
After receiving information about their contributions from Lin Beifan, the major merchants and prestigious families hurried back to prepare the necessary resources and increase their contributions. The competition was fierce, one after another, like a never-ending stream!
As a result, the support for the construction of the new city increased more and more!
To what extent?
To the extent that Lin Beifan could even repay the court. All the grain spent on disaster relief was completely replenished, with some surplus left!
As for other resources, they were also abundant!
This matter shocked the court!
During the morning court session, the Empress praised Lin Beifan excitedly: “Sir Lin, it was absolutely right to entrust this matter to you! Not only did you successfully prepare the necessary resources, but you also made our court wealthy! Excellent, truly excellent! Your merits will be remembered for now and will be rewarded later!”
“Thank you, Your Majesty!” Lin Beifan replied loudly.
In his heart, he thought, not only has the court become wealthy, but I have also become wealthy!
But the next moment, Lin Beifan felt a chill on his back, as if he was being watched.
In the evening, the Minister of Personnel, Gao Tianyao, came to hold him accountable.
He angrily said, “Lin, I heard that you told Minister Qian about the contribution rankings?”
Lin Beifan remained very calm and said, “Yes! Minister Qian came with great sincerity, and I couldn’t just turn him away, right? Sir Gao, you also know, I can’t resist gold, silver, and jewels!”
Gao Tianyao was even more furious, “But I have checked with him, why did he say something different?”
Lin Beifan remained composed, “I can only say that the contribution rankings are constantly changing, so naturally, the information may vary. I hope Sir Gao can understand!”
Gao Tianyao got angrier, “Nonsense! It’s only been the time to finish a cup of tea, and it has changed?”
Lin Beifan: “…”
“Sir Lin, don’t fool me! Just say, how much money do you want to give one distribution right for cement to the Gao family? Name your price directly, stop being coy!” Gao Tianyao said impatiently.
Lin Beifan held up three fingers, “Two million taels!”
“Two million taels! Are you kidding me?” Gao Tianyao was enraged.
Lin Beifan said with grievances, “You asked me to name my price!”
Gao Tianyao jumped up in anger, “I asked you to give a price, not to rip me off! Two million taels, I don’t even know if I can make that back! Can’t you be more reasonable?”
“Alright then, one million taels! As long as the money is received, the Gao family will definitely get one distribution right!” Lin Beifan said reluctantly, as if he was losing a significant amount of money.
One million taels, Gao Tianyao still felt it was too much!
However, if they could secure one distribution right in advance and avoid the endless contributions of resources, it would be worth it!
Gao Tianyao gritted his teeth, “Fine! It’s a deal!”
Once again, they made up and enjoyed their wine together.
While drinking, Gao Tianyao tentatively asked, “Sir Lin, what about the tax policies for the new city? Can you give a little benefit to the Gao family too? Don’t worry, you won’t be left out of the benefits!”
Lin Beifan looked shocked, “Sir Gao, aren’t you being too greedy? Besides the distribution right for cement, you even want to get tax benefits for the new factory?”
Gao Tianyao felt somewhat embarrassed.
Just as he was about to explain, Lin Beifan raised five fingers, “Okay, add 500,000 taels!”
“Gosh!” Gao Tianyao exclaimed.
Who was the greedier one after all?
After getting Lin Beifan’s promise, Gao Tianyao immediately went back to raise money!
Watching the departing figure, Lin Beifan smiled with narrowed eyes.
In fact, the contribution ranking of the Gao family had already reached the top three. They were almost certain to secure it!
However, when a lamb is delivered to your door, how can you not take advantage of it?
Next, the Minister of Revenue came to hold him accountable, the Minister of Justice came to hold him accountable, the Minister of Rites came to hold him accountable…
Lin Beifan followed the same tactic, and from each of the other prominent families, he managed to squeeze out 1.5 million taels from each, totaling 15 million taels. He made them pay more money and yet they still felt grateful!
If they found out, would they spit blood?
